Fitness Update: 16 Weeks Post C-Section
Almost everything about my pregnancy with Stevie was different than mine with Brock. From the way I got pregnant (read more about that here), having morning sickness with one and not the other, to the way each of them grew and measured in my belly. Coming off a gnarly pregnancy and delivery with Brock (my birth stories here) my OBGYN heavy monitored me all nine months with Stevie. We had a "plan" to try and deliver Stevie vaginally but after careful consideration in the weeks leading up to my due day, my doctor and I made the final decision to schedule a cesarean in two days. I instantly felt anxious as hell.
Stevie was born on August 24th, 2018 via c-section. Don't get me wrong, I was 9 months pregnant and ready to have her. There was actually a lot of excitement having the cesarian scheduled and a ton of relief knowing that the chaos that I experienced during Brock's birth (hopefully) wouldn't be happening this time. The anxiousness came from me knowing exactly what it's like to recover from a c-section. This was going to be my second and while I had no complications with the first surgery, let's be realβ¦.a c-section is a major operation.
The healing process is done best slowly and I wanted to do anything I could to help the area heal as best as possible. The most important thing and the most challenging thing for me to do is take it easy, for six longweeks. This was easy at the beginning because I was in so much pain; standing up straight and walking is huge progress. But as each recovery week passed, especially after weeks three and four, my body started feeling pretty good. Iwas feeling the itch to get out and do something active so I started walking, almost every day. Mentally I couldn't take it anymore, I was stir-crazy andready to sweat but physically, it was like I was starting from scratch. I had had my work cut out for me.
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1 Week Postpartum -
6 Weeks Postpartum
Finally Cleared
After the final visit with my doctor, she checked my incision and I was officially cleared to start working out on October 5th.
Because I had recovered from this exact surgery four years earlier, I knew how important it would be to start slowly and listen to my body during every workout. I decided to start with running because I could control my pace, my distance, plus I wanted to test my endurance and see how out of shape I really was. The good news was that I was active most of my pregnancy and my first week running felt good. As expected, the runs were harder than usual but I didn'tcare, it felt so good to sweat again. Month one I really focused on my cardio.
Snapshot: At the beginning of the month I was running 4-5 days a week. Once I started incorporating yoga into my regiment, running dropped down to 2-3 days a week.
As I progressed through that first month, I felt more and more confident in myphysical ability so I decided to start back into hot yoga. I've been taking Bootcamp Yoga for almost 10 years now so I knew how hard these classes weregoing to be starting back up. Bootcamp Yoga is high-intensity interval training using dumbbells, blocks and bodyweight in a heated room. I knew I had to startback and it wasn't pretty, for a while. However, each time I took a Bootcamp class I could feel my endurance, balance and strength coming back little by little.
Snapshot: I took two Bootcamp classes in October, six in November and December and am on track to take eight this month (January).
Strength training with my trainer started the first week of November, exactly a month after I was cleared. Within a few weeks of weightlifting, I wasfeeling very comfortable with the workouts again and seeing results. See video here.
Snapshot: I focused on moderate to heavy strength training twice a week for 30-minutes. No cardio on these days. ο»Ώ
Progress
Now for the fun part. I gained 45 lbs. this pregnancy. I had only dropped 15 lbs. from delivery and over the course of the next 6 weeks of C-section recovery, I only lost another 5 lbs. Boy, do I envy the moms that bounce right back into their jeans post-delivery or the moms that talk about the weight melting off from breastfeeding. Not even close to my experience. When I was cleared to start working out again, my goal was simple: I just wanted to get back into my clothes again. You would be surprised how motivating a closet full of skinny jeans and crop tops is. But realistically, I needed to lose at least 20 lbs. to make that happen.
What motivates me?
Setting realistic, small micro-goals every week and month. For example, we had a trip scheduled for the end of November, about 7 weeks after I was cleared. I had a goal to be at a certain weight for the trip and although I missed it by 2 lbs. (dammit), I got close. Bottom line, setting attainable goals works for me. And although I don't hit every single one, I'm pretty darn close most of the time. It's about holding yourself accountable, every single day. The micro-goals have been weight-loss motivated thus far, but in all reality, hitting a goal usually means I can wear more of the clothes in my closet which is ultimately most motivating for me, a chick that loves her clothes.
Setbacks
I will be the first person to give myself a little credit because I've been working my butt off. I'm super happy with the progress I have made the past 16 weeks! And it has not been easy. Trying to say consistent, eat healthy and keep up with workouts during the holidays was very challenging. Stevie has also been going through sleep regression (Brock did NOT have this), so many nights I get horrible, horrible sleep. Some weeks I feel like a literally zombie when I'm on a run but I always feel better when I'm done. I also experienced my share of setbacks with my health this time. I have literally never been sick so much in my life. I'm usually one of those people that don't get sick very often so it's been hard. Since October, I cannot seem to catch a break with my health. I was sick for a week in October, almost two weeks in November and again in January. The worst part about it (other than just feeling crappy) I had to take lots of breaks from working out to try and get healthy again. Talk about frustrating, especially when you're on a roll. I'm not telling you this to make any excuses, its life, shit happens. I'm telling you about this because when I would finally feel better, I was working that much harder to make up for the week I had to take off. Also, keeping my diet on track helped me not go backward missing workouts.
Results
The fun part! To be exact, I'm 7 lbs. away from my pre-babyweight, but like I said, getting to a particular "weight" isn't myfinal goal. It's going to be a huge accomplishment getting to wear all my oldclothes again though. Once I (hopefully) hit my pre-baby weight, my new focuswill be: maintaining, fine tuning specific muscle groups and continue tostrengthen.
How am I healing?
My scar is healing amazing, better than my first. My abdominal muscles, specifically my lower abs are still doing their thing. I really can't complain though, it's only been five months. I've heard my share of horror stories and was super anxious starting this process again but not only do I feel like recovery has been easier this time, I feel so grateful that I didn't have any complications. There have been a few notable differences with C-section number two. My doctor was able to cut out a lot of the old scar tissue that had formed from my old scar and it's never looked better. I also feel like there is a lot more skin hanging around than before. I'm hoping that with time, things will tighten back up but I'm trying to prepare myself in case it doesn't and I'm good with it. My body has done some amazing stuff, I'm nothing but grateful. M
Moving forward
I have been successful this far because I'm constantly checking in with myself, my goals and changing them up. That's why I like to set small ones instead of focusing on one huge end goal that loses its steam over time. For example, I hit a small goal early last week and since then, my weight hasn't budged. I realize I'm still breastfeeding so I take that into consideration, however, sometimes when I hit a weight goal I notice that I may cheat more with my eating. This week I made a promise to myself that I need to bring the focus back. Having that ability to put myself in check makes all the difference for me. Losing weight is not easy, there are hard moments, days and weeks but there is no better feeling then hitting a goal I set for myself.
I'm 16 weeks in and feeling great with my progress so far. I'm going to continue doing what has worked for me. High-protein, lots of veggies and a low to no carb diet. I'm also going to keep up a five day a week, cardio, yoga and strength training regimen. If I reach a point, start gettingbored and/or stop seeing the results I'm looking for I will change it up. I love barre classes and have been interested in starting Pilates too. I'm opento all fitness suggestions ;)
As always, I will keep you updated through my process. Thank you so much for reading and the continued support.
XO, Shawna